Porcelain
by LaVioleBlanche
Summary: Third in the 'Runaway' and 'Hideaway' series, in which Darren and Harkat finally face the truth.


The characters in this fic belong to Darren Shan.

**NOTE: This fic contains slash. Darren/Harkat slash. It is fairly explicit, so this will have quite a long intro, in order to give you ample time to run away and save yourself. However! If you are one of the rare individuals who actually intends to read Darren/Harkat slash, I commend you and hope that you read on! And if you enjoy that which you read, please please please review! It is what keeps me going.**

**And now, a brief glance into the writer's life**:

While in a bookshop the other day, I encountered the manga editions of CDF. Interested, I picked up a copy, flipped through it, then threw it down and yelled quite loudly,

"WHAT. THE. HELL?!"

Fortunately, the staff and most of the patrons of said bookshop are familiar with my charming habits of shouting at, on, in, or near books, so they (sensibly) continued to ignore me with grace and dignity.

…However, I was still annoyed, so I ran over to my long-suffering little sister, waved the book in her face, and yelled, "LOOKIT THAT! WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?! LOOK WHAT THEY'VE DONE TO HARKAT; HE LOOKS LIKE A FUCKING FISH!"

Yeah, I wasn't too pleased.

Not that I have anything against manga. I'm quite an avid reader of manga, even if I do prefer comic books. If you read the manga and liked it, good on you. I'm just not at all happy about how the artist drew Harkat. I always pictured him looking more like this brilliant rendering. I'm not sure who the original artist is, but whoever they are, they are my hero. .com/art/Fan-Art-Harkat-Mulds-115664390

Anyway.

This fic is the sequel to Runaway and Hideaway. This is the (final?) chapter, in which I boldly go where I'm fairly certain no writer has gone before, and Darren and Harkat actually DO IT. If you're looking for something a little more discreet, go read those first two. And if you haven't read them yet, but want to read this, you should probably check 'em out anyway, so you are not like "Ummmm, where'd the random smexing come from???"

And a big ginourmous hug to all **2 **of the people who enjoyed my first two fics!!! Wow, _**2**_ people! You are lovely, you 2! Flash Gator, Miss Murder, this is for you guys!

The song that this story was titled after is Porcelain by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs (again, I continue to adore that band).

I hope that this fic will inspire people to go forth and write their own lovely Darren/Harkat stories, 'cause the world needs more! (Seriously. Please?)

Ummm… Sooo… yeah. That's all I can think of to stall with. Longest intro ever. Still reading? Brilliant. On to the smut!

~*~

_**Baby I'm afraid of a lot of things  
But I ain't scared of loving you  
Baby I know you're afraid of a lot of things  
But don't be scared of love, love  
Cause people will say all kinds of things  
That don't mean a damn to me  
Cause all I see is what's in front of me  
And that's you**_

Well, I've been dragged all over the place  
I've taken hits time just don't erase  
And baby I can see you've been fucked with too  
But that don't mean your loving days are through  
Cause people will say all kinds of things  
That don't mean a damn to me  
Cause all I see is what's in front of me  
And that's you

Well I may be just a fool  
But I know we're just as cool  
And cool kids...  
They belong together.

~*~

Harkat froze the instant Darren's lips touched his. He remained motionless as the vampire pressed in a little harder and let his mouth slip open, warm tongue swiping lightly across grey lips. The Little Person still didn't move, but managed to make a small sound at the back of his throat when Darren tilted his head and began to print gentle kisses along a scar, following it down to Harkat's shoulder. The ex-assistant nuzzled at his friend's neck before moving back up to press their mouths together again, this time tugging lightly at Harkat's bottom lip with his sharp teeth. When Harkat's mouth opened slightly, Darren slipped his tongue in coaxingly, his eyes sliding shut. The grey creature let out a noise like a whimper and shivered with sensory overload, still frozen to the spot. Only when Darren's hands slid between the folds of blue fabric and stroked the stitched, marred skin beneath them did Harkat snap into full alertness. He pulled away, breathing heavily, and gaped at his friend, his green eyes (if possible) even wider than normal.

"D-Darren – you – what – I – what are you doing?"

"Um. Taking your clothes off?"

"Wha-" Harkat was so staggered he couldn't even form a sentence. He stood with his mouth hanging open, the very picture of shock.

Darren grinned. "I don't think you realize how cute you are when you do that." He brushed a soft fingertip teasingly down his companion's left cheek and started to tilt in once more, his lips parting invitingly.

It took all Harkat's willpower and then some to put his hands on the vampire's shoulders and hold him back before that tempting mouth came any closer. "I- _why_ are you t-taking my clothes off?"

Darren sat back a little. "I thought we already covered that. Remember?"

"I-whuh- you – actually…meant what you – you're serious?" Harkat managed, his brain still attempting to process information it had received minutes ago.

Darren gently grasped both of the stitchling's hands and lifted them from his shoulders to move them down to his chest. As he held them there, he leaned in again and let his lips hover just-barely-touching Harkat's as he murmured.

"I'll say it again. _I love you, too, Harkat_."

"D-Darren…" The name was whispered in a desperate, breathless rasp as the rough hands against the vampire's chest curled and gripped at the fabric of his shirt. Harkat's eyes, inches from Darren's were twin pools of fear and guilt and terrible, painful hope. He swallowed audibly, took a deep breath, and ever-so-cautiously pulled the Vampire Prince forward.

Their mouths met again, slowly and softly. This time Harkat willingly engaged, his raw, grey lips stroking against Darren's. The former assistant eagerly responded, alternating light nips and gentle caresses with teeth and tongue. He wrapped his arms around the Little Person and drew him in, deepening the kiss. His hair fell forward and sketched shadows across their faces in the glowing light of their campfire's remains. Harkat's eyes never left Darren's; his intense stare seemed to search for something, some twitch or hint that would give this away as a trick or an act of charity rather than sincerity. Darren held his gaze, eyelids lowered, and ran a hand up his friend's back to cradle the back of his head and pull him even closer.

What could have been ages or instants later, they parted for air, each feeling the warm breath of the other ghost against their skin. They continued to gaze at one another. Darren moved his hand from the back of Harkat's skull to cup his stitched-together cheek. The vampire smiled, offering honest, open affection and encouragement and-- and…Harkat drew a long, shuddering breath and let it out in a single word, one syllable filled with overwhelming, stunned realization.

"Oh." His voice was quiet and shaky, reminding Darren of when the Little Person had been woken from his nightmares. The voice of someone realizing that they are not alone. "Oh," he said again, "This is – th-this is…really real. This isn't a- it's real. Y-you really…"

"Told you," Darren mumbled fondly as he leaned in once more. "Now, _if_ you don't mind, I'd like to get back to what I was doing."

Harkat trembled in anticipation as the vampire drew near and tilted his head to nuzzle into the hollow of the grey-blue being's throat. Harkat reacted, hesitantly at first, by bringing one hand up and tangling his fingers in Darren's hair, urging him to continue. Darren raised his head and lightly trailed his lips up his companion's chin and across one cheek, teasingly avoiding the mouth. Harkat made a tiny, wordlessly pleading noise and Darren gave in, joining their lips passionately. The vampire traced the roof of Harkat's mouth with his tongue, eliciting a soft moan, then pulled away again, panting, to meet Harkat's eyes.

"Bed?" His voice was low and husky and his eyes were darkened with excitement. "I mean, y'know…sleeping bag-type bed," he amended with a half-grin.

"Yes, please," Harkat said breathlessly, mind reeling.

Darren stood up and tugged his shirt over his head, stepping back. The stitched creature rose to follow him, tripped in the darkness, stumbled onto the rumpled bedding on his hands and knees. He rolled onto is back, grinning sheepishly, about to berate himself for his clumsiness, but his breath caught in his throat when he caught sight of Darren as the young Prince crawled predatorily over Harkat. The contours and lines of his back were illuminated faintly by the emberlight and the intensity of his gaze made Harkat's chest hitch slightly as chaotic waves of emotion crashed through both of them. Darren leaned in again, pulling at the blue cloak that separated their bodies. Harkat sucked in a breath, trying to calm down.

"Are-are you absolutely sure that you-" he started to ask, cursing himself for being so self-conscious and awkward. Darren cut him off, looking his friend straight in the face, his eyes gleaming with tender amusement despite his stern tone.

"Do I _look_ like I'm having second thoughts?"

"No," Harkat lowered his gaze, blushing dark grey, then added sarcastically, "_Sir_."

Darren chuckled and planted another kiss on Harkat's lips for emphasis. "Love you."

~*~

So I may just leave the story there, or continue it in a more *ahem* adult fashion (if I'm alive long enough). I leave the decision to you, dear reader!!!


End file.
